Needle selecting means for circular knitting machines



Oct. 25, 1960 CRAWFORD 1 2,957,325

NEEDLE SELECTING MEANS FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 22, 1957 :5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FLrE- l 1N VEN TOR. Herman E Crawfbro sywz A TTOk/Vf Y 25, 1960 H. E. CRAWFORD ,95 ,325

NEEDLE SELECTING MEANS FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed on. 22, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I llmuul iwim - INVENTOR.

37 Herman 5 (mu/flare I BY AZZ/% ATTOANE Oct. 25, 1960 H. E.

NEEDLE SELECTING MEANS Filed Oct. 22, 1957 F1 E E CRAWFORD 2,957,325

FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet s Pl rsl U INVEN TOR.

Herman E (raw/om ATTORNEY United States Patent NEEDLE SELECTING MEANS FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Herman E. Crawford, Kernersville, N.C., assignor to The -H. E. Crawford Company, Incorporated, Kernersville,

This invention relates to improvements in circular knitting machines of the type for knitting patterned areas in tubular fabrics such as stockings or the like and more particularly to needle selecting means for such machines for producing the patterned areas in symmetrical relation to the heel and toe portions of said stockings.

In circular knitting machines for knitting stockings having diamond-shaped or Argyle patterned areas, particularly of the type shown in my US. Patent No. 2,757,- 526, issued August 7, 1956, means are provided for reciprocating the needle cylinder and for shogging the needle cylinder so that certain of the needles, corresponding to the approximate center of each of the patterned areas, Will move equi-distant past the knitting station during reverse reciprocations of the needle cylinder. In order to determine the position of the patterned areas, the circle of needles is divided into groups corresponding in number to the number of patterned areas and each group of needles has a pair of long butt needles at one end thereof, a series of short butt needles at the other end of the group and a series of needles having medium length butts intermediate the long and short butt needles. In selecting the groups of needles for forming a patterned area a cam is inserted into the path of the two long butt needles of the selected group which lowers these needles into position to receive yarn and to pass through knitting cams to knit the yarn into loops.

In forming upper half-diamonds of the patterned area, the needle cylinder is shogged to select two adjacent groups of needles to move equi-distant through the knitting cams and a cam engages the needle of the selected groups to move them to active position to pass through the knitting cams. When forming a full diamond, after shogging the needle cylinder to select the two active groups of needles a cam lowers the two long butt needles of one of the groups adjacent the juncture of the two selected groups so that these needles pass through the knitting cams to form the first loops of the diamond. As knitting of the areas proceeds the number of needles of the active groups is progressively decreased or increased to shape the areas.

When knitting the heel and toe portions of the stockings the needle cylinder is shogged to select the groups of needles to pass equidistant through the knitting cams and the needles of the selected groups are moved to active position to pass through the knitting cams while the needles of the unselected groups are in inactive position to hold their loops in the usual manner. Thus it will be seen that the actual center of the needle groups forming the heel, toe and the upper half-diamonds may be between a long butt needle of one group of needles and a short butt needle of an adjacent group of needles. On the other hand, the centers of the other diamond-shaped areas are between the two long butt needles which results in the centerlines of the patterned areas being offset in relation to the centerline of the heel and toe portions of the stockings.

It is therefore an object of the instant invention to pro- 2,957,325, Patented Oct. 25, 1968 vide means in a circular knitting machine for overcoming the above and other defects in the formation of spaced patterned areas in tubular knitted fabrics such as stockings and the like.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means in a circular knitting machine for forming patterned areas in tubular knitted stockings whereby such patterned areas are in accurate symmetrical relation to the heel and toe portions of the stockings.

A further object of the invention is to provide a circular knitting machine, in which the needle cylinder is shogged to select the center of a group of needles to move equi-distant through the knitting cams, with means for at times selecting at least one needle at opposite sides of the selected center of movement to pass equi-distant through the knitting cams.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means, in circular knitting machines of the type in which the needle cylinder is shogged, to select the center of a group of needles to move equi-distant through the knitting cams which means acts to select at least one needle at opposite sides of the selected center of movement during the interval between the shogging of the needle cylinder from the previous center of movement to the next selected center of movement.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent from the following detailed description of the illustrative and practical embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, the invention comprises the novel method steps, elements, features of construction and combination of parts in cooperative relationship as hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims. v i

In the drawings:

Figure l is a top plan view of a portion of the circular knitting machine having mechanism according to the invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken through a portion of the driving mechanism of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the arrangement of the needle operating cams which are spaced around the needle cylinder, the stationary cams being shown in solid lines and the radially movable cams being shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 4 is a view on an enlarged scale of the mechanism of Fig. 1 taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view on an enlarged scale taken substantially along the line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along the line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view on :an enlarged scale taken substantially along the line 7-7 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic plan view of the needle cylinder showing the arrangement of the needle butts indicating the grouping of the needles and the varying lengths of the butts in each of the groups;

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view of one side of a stocking having one arrangement of ornamental patterned solid color areas; and

Fig. 10 is a flat plan view of the solid color patterned portion of the stocking of Fig. 9, the view showing the stocking when split or opened along a vertical line extending along the front of the stocking.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 8 of the drawings there is shown portions of a circular knitting machine of the type for forming solid color patterned areas in tubular fabrics such as stockings. The machine is preferably that described in said Patent 2,757,526 to which reference may be made. The machine includes a circle of needles N which are slidably mounted in slots in a needle cylinder indicated diagrammatically at 103 (Fig. 1) in a common manner. Yarns are fed to the needles N and the needles are operated by cams including a center cam 1055 and end knitting cams 1056 and 1057 to knit the yarns into loops in forming a tubular fabric such as a stocking 11 shown in Fig. 9. The cams 1055, 1056 and' 1057 are of the fixed type which act on butts of the needles. The butts of the needles are also acted on by radially movable cams, shown in dotted outline in Fig. 3, including. an elevating switch cam 852 which acts to raise certain of the needles to inactive position to pass above the center cam 1055, and a switch cam 887 for lowering certain of the needles N to pass through theknitting cams during the start of the heel and toe portions of the stocking 11. A right hand widening pick feed cam 825 lowers the inactive needles into position for engagement with a pair of right hand widening picks 893 and 894 during a reciprocation of the needles in one direction and an elevating switch cam 1202 acts to again raise the needles not engaged by the right hand widening picks to position the needles to pass above the center cam 1055. A left hand widening pick feed cam 875 lowers the inactive needles into position for engagement with a pair of left hand widening picks 895 and 896 and a needle leveling cam 1204 again raises the needles not engaged by the left hand widening picks to pass above the center cam 1055. Left and right narrowing picks 1060 and 106 1 are provided to raise the leading needles of the active needles to inactive position to pass above the center cam 1055. A stationary upper leveling cam 1200 is provided to insure that the needles will be directed to the level for engagement with the widening pick feed cams 825 and 875 when these cams are in active position. The above referred to cams for operating the needles N are constructed and operated in the same manner set forth in said patent.

The machine of said Patent 2,757,526, which is operated for both rotary and reciprocatory knitting, includes means for shogging the needle cylinder toIcause certain groups of needles representing portions of the needles in the needle circle to move equidistant past a knitting station represented by the stitch cams 1056 and 1057 during reciprocatory knitting to produce diamond-shaped patterned areas, each of which is formed individually and joined to like adjacent patterned areas by .sutures extending at angles to both the wales and courses. The shogging means includes a shogging disk 945 which is secured to one end ofa main drive shaft'153 by means of a key 1008 and a screw 1007 (Fig. 2). The shogging disk 945 is provided with a notch 1011 for a locking finger or latch 1012, the latch being mounted in the notch for oscillating movement by means of a pin 1013 carried in the shogging disk. The latch 1012 has a nose portion for engagement in notches in a locking disk 1000 which is secured to a bevel gear 187 rotatably mounted on the shaft 153, the bevel gear 187 meshing with a corresponding bevel gear secured to the needle cylinder of the machine (not shown). With the nose of the latch 1012 engaged in one of the notches in the locking disk 1000, the gear 187 is moved with the shaft 153 during both rotary and reciprocatory knitting. For releasing the nose of the latch 1012 from a notch in the locking disk 1000 and for reengaging the nose in another of the notches, the latch is provided with a tail portion 1015 which extends inwardly and is engaged by a spring pressed pin 1016 slidably mounted in a cavity 1017 in the end of the shaft 153.

To produce a shogging effect between the shogging disk 945 and the locking disk 1000 of the shogging means i which in turn is transmitted to the needle cylinder, pattern controlled means is' provided to disengage the latch 1012 from one of the notches in the locking disk and to reengage the latch in another of the notches in the disk. For this purpose, the tail portion 1015 of the latch 1012. is adapted to be engaged by a screw 1021 which is adjustably carried in the end of a crank arm 1022- secured to a vertical shaft 1025. The shaft-1025 is mounted for oscillating movement in the machine and has secured thereto a control finger 1030 which is adapted to be engaged by a row of cams such as shown at 1031 on a pattern drnm 191 (Fig. 1). The pattern drum 191 has a ratchet wheel and pawl mechanism (not shown) associated therewith for indexing the pattern drum stepby-step in timed relation to the operation of the machine.

As shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the stocking .11 has a top portion 12, a patterned portion 15 having diamondshaped areas 16 preferably knitted of different colored yarns and symmetrically spaced about the stocking, a heel portion 17, a foot portion 20 and a. toe portion :21. As shown in Fig. 10,. the patterned portion 15.has upper and lower half-diamond areas formed" at diametrically opposite sides of the stocking and intervening full-diamond areas formed at the sides and at the front and back edges of the stocking. Each of the diamond-shaped areas are individually formed and joined to each other by sutures which extend at angles to both the courses and wales of=- the stocking. r

In order to facilitate the selection of the needles by the various cams, hereinbefore referred to, in forming, the diamond-shaped areas and the heel and toe portions of the stocking, the circle of needles is divided into four groups A, B, C and D (Fig. 8), the center between each pair of adjacent groups corresponding to the notches in the locking disk 1000 which determine the centers of reciprocation of the needle cylinder. Each of the groups A, B, C and D have a pair of long butt needles at oneend of the group, a series of short butt needles at the other end of the group and a series of needles having butts of medium length intermediate the long and short buttne edles.

In knitting the stocking 11 according to said Patent 2,757,526, the top portion 12 is formed during rotary operation of the machine. Following the knitt'mg of the. last course of the top portion the needles of two of the groups B and C are conditioned for knitting by the needle. operating cams, the machine is conditioned for reciprocatory knitting and the crank arm 102 is operated by acam 103 1 on the pattern drum 191 to disengage the latch 1012 from a notch in the locking disk 1000. At the correct time the crank arm 1022 is returned to inactive position and the latch 1012 engages the notch in the locking disk that will carry the needles in groups B and C equi-distant past the knitting cams to knit one of the tophalf diamonds with the appropriate manipulation of the various pick feed cams to gradually reduce the width of the half diamond to two needles. The final two needles are then moved to inactive position and all of the needles in the groups A and D are moved to active position, the latch 1012 is disengaged from the locking disk 1000 and reengaged in the notch that will shog the needle cylinder to carry the needles in these groups equi-distant past the knitting cams in formingthe other upper half diamond.

At the completion of the second upper half diamond. the needle cylinder is shogged by disengaging the latch 1012 from the notch in which it was engaged to form the. second upper half diamond and reengaging it to carry the needles in groups C and D equi-distant past the knitting cams to knit one of the upper full diamonds. In accordance with the patent, at the same time a cam-is moved to engage and move the two long butt needles in the group. B to'active position and these needles are carried through the knitting cams to knit the first course of the first mentioned upper diamond. At completion of this diamond the needle cylinder is shogged to carry the needles in the groups-A andB equi-distant past the knittingcams and the two long butt needles in group D are lowered. to active position to pass through the knitting cams to form the first course of loopsin the second full diamond. Following completion of the second. full diamond the remaining full diamonds and lower half diamonds are successively formed by shogging the needle cylinder-to carry the-correct groups of needles equi-distant through the knitting cams and the two long butt needles are lowered to knit the first loops at the start of each of these areas.

Following completion of the patterned portion 15 of the stocking the machine is alternately conditioned for rotary knitting and reciprocatory knitting to form the remainder of the stocking including the heel 17, foot 20 and toe 21. In forming the heel and toe portions, the needle cylinder is shogged to carry the needles in groups A and B equi-distant through the knitting cams and the number of active needles is reduced and then increased to narrow and widen the heel and toe in the manner set forth in said patent.

It will be clear from the foregoing that the center of reciprocatory movement of the needles for each shogged position of the needle cylinder is at the center of each pair of needle groups or between a short butt needle of one group and a long butt needle of the adjacent group. Consequently the centers of the two upper half diamonds are symmetrically spaced at opposite sides of the center of the heel and toe portions. On the other hand the centers of the diamond-shaped areas and the lower half diamonds, the start of which is determined by the two long butt needles of the groups A, B, C and D, are at a point midway between the two needles of each pair of long butt needles. Therefore, the centers of certain of the areas are offset a distance of one or more needles in relation to the other areas knitted by reciprocatory motion.

In order to form the heel, toe and the diamond-shaped areas in symmetrical relation with respect to each other according to the instant invention, a needle at opposite sides of the center between each two adjacent groups of needles as determined by said shogging means is selected so that the center of reciprocation and the center of the diamond-shaped areas coincide. For this purpose there is provided a selecting finger 25 which is adapted to overlie the butts of the needles N. The finger 25 forms one arm of a lever 26 which is pivotally mounted within a slot 27 on a post 691 by means of a stud 30, as shown in Fig. 6. The post 691 is secured to a fixed part of the machine and acts, as explained in said Patent 2,757,526, to limit the oscillating movement of the sinker cap of the machine (not shown). The end of the finger 25 normally lies within a recess or slot 31 in the levelling cam 1200 above the lower surface of the cam (Fig. 3) and is biased to such position by a spring 32 connected between the lever 26 and the post 691 (Figs. 4 and Preferably the finger 25 is adapted to engage the butts of two needles N (Fig. 7), one at each side of the centerline between the knitting cams 1056 and 1057 and at a point in the needle circle diametrically opposite from the knitting cams, although it is to be understood that the finger may be of a width to engage more than two needles if desired. The lever 26 is operated to engage the butts and depress the two selected needles by a pin 35 which is carried in and projects from one arm 36 of a bell crank 37 also pivotally monuted on the stud 30 (Figs. 5 and 6). A second arm 40 of the bell crank 37 is connected to one end of a Bowden wire 41, the other end of which is connected to one arm 42 of a lever 43 pivotally mounted on a shaft 1025 (Figs. 1 and 5). A second arm 45 of the lever 43 is adapted to be engaged by a row of cams such as shown at 46 on the pattern drum 191.

In order to cause a shogging of the needle cylinder to select a new center of reciprocation to form the diamondshaped areas and the lower half diamonds, the pattern drum 191 is indexed to move a cam 1031 into engagement with the finger 1030 and operate the arm 1022 to disengage the latch from a notch in the locking disk 1000 to stop the needle cylinder, which occurs when the center between the two needle groups next to be reciprocated is aligned with the center of selecting finger 25. Immediately following disengagement of the latch 1012 the pattern drum is again indexed to move a cam 46 into engagement with the arm 45 to actuate the Bowden wire and turn the lever 26 clockwise as viewed in Fig. 4 to engage and depress the butts of the two needles beneath the selecting lever. A further indexing movement of the pattern drum 191 moves both cams 1031 and 46 out of engagement with the arms 1030 and 45, respectively, which permits the lever 26 to return to its position of Fig. 4 and actuates the arm 1022 to release the latch 1012 to engage the notch in the locking disk that will move the two selected needles equi-distant through the knitting cams 1056 and 1057.

It is believed to be clear from the foregoing that whether all of the needles or only a selected few of the needles of the groups that are selected to pass equidistant through the knitting cam during reciprocatory movement of the needle cylinder, the center of recipro cation coincides with the exact center of the selected needles so that each of the patterned areas and heel and toe portions of the stocking will always be formed in symmetric relation to each other. Further, While the instant invention has been described in connection with a design of stocking that requires shogging the needle cylinder to only four difierent positions, it will be obvious that the needle selecting means of the instant invention will function the same in producing symmetrically spaced designs requiring less or more than four shogged positions of the needle cylinder.

It will be understood that the improvements shown and described, by which the abo've described results are obtained, can be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the invention herein disclosed and hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. In a circular knitting machine having needles, a needle cylinder in which said needles are slidably mounted, cams for moving said needles through knitting cycles, reciprocating means for moving said needle cylinder to carry selected groups of said needles equi-distant past said cams, means for disengaging and reengaging said reciprocating means to shog said needle cylinder to carry other selected groups of needles equi-distant past said cams, in combination with means for selecting a pair of needles at the center of an adjacent pair of said other selected groups of needles to first pass equi-distant through said cams, said needle selecting means acting between said disengagement and reengagement of said reciprocating means.

2. In a circular knitting machine having needles, a needle cylinder in which said needles are slidably mounted for knitting movements, cams for moving said needles in said needle cylinder, reciprocating means for moving said needle cylinder to carry selected groups of said needles equi-distant past said cams, and pattern means for disengaging and reengaging said reciprocating means to shog said needle cylinder to carry other selected groups of needles equi-distant past said cams, in combination with means for selecting a plurality of said needles at the center of an adjacent pair of said other selected groups of needles to first pass through said cams, and means operated by said pattern means for actuating said needle selecting means between disengagement and reengagement of said reciprocating means.

3. In a circular knitting machine having needles, a needle cylinder in which said needles are slidably mounted for knitting movements, cams for moving said needles in said needle cylinder, reciprocating means for moving said needle cylinder to carry selected groups of said needles equi-distant past said cams, and pattern means for disengaging and reengaging said reciprocating means to shog said needle cylinder to carry other selected groups of said needles equi-distant past said cams, in combination with means for selecting a pair of needles at the center of said other selected groups of needles to first pass 7 through said cams, and means operated by said pattern means for-actuating said needle selecting means between disengagementand reengagement of said reciprocating means; r

4. In acircular knitting machine-having needles, operating butts on said needles, a needle cylinder in which said needles are mounted for knitting movements, cams for moving said needles in said needle cylinder, reciprocating means for moving said needle'cylinder to carry selected groups ofsaid needles equidistant past said cams, and means for disengaging and reengaging said reciprocating means tocarry other selected groups of needles equi-distant past said cams, incombination with means for. selecting a pair of needles at the center of an adjacent pair of said other selected groups of needles to first pass equi-distant through said cams including a pivoted selecting finger overlying the butts of said needles, and means'for operating said selecting finger betweendisengagement and reengagement of said reciprocating means.

5. Ina circular knitting machine having needles, operating butts on said needles, a needle cylinder in which said needles are mounted for knitting movements, cams for'moving said needles in said needle cylinder, reciprocating means for moving said needle cylinder to carry selected adjacent groups of needles equi-distant past said cams, and means for disengaging and for reengaging said reciprocating means to carry the needles of other selected adjacent groups equi-distant past said cams, in combination with means for selecting at least one needle at opposite sides of the center of said other selected adjacent groups of needles to first pass through said cams including a selecting finger overlying the butts of said needles, and means for operating said selecting finger between disengagement and reengagement of said reciprocating means. 7

6'.v In a circular knitting machine having needles, operating' butts on said needles, a needle cylinder in which said needles are mounted forknitting movements, cams for moving said'needles in'lsaid needle cylinder, reciprocating means for moving saidneedle cylinder to carry selected groups of needles equidistant pastjsaid cams and means for disengaging and forreengaging said re-' ciprocating. means to carry the needles of other: selected groups equi-distant past said cams, in combination with means for selecting at least one needle at opposite sides of a juncture line betweenan adjacent pair of said other selected groups to first pass through said cams includ? ing a selecting finger overlying the butts of said needles, and means for operating said selecting finger between disengagement and reengagement of: said reciprocating means to engage the butts of the selected needles to move them from an inactive to .an active position in which said selected needles will-pass throughusaid cams.

. 7. In a circular knitting. machineihavin'g spaced groups of needles, butts on 'saidneedles, a needle cylinder in which said needles are mounted'for knitting movements, cams for moving said needles in said needle cylinder, reciprocating means for moving said needle cylinder to carry selected adjacent groups of. needles equi-distantpast said cams, pattern means, means operated by said pattern means for disengaging said reciprocating means to stop said needle cylinder with' two adjacent groups of needles in predetermined position, means for moving a selected needle at opposite sides of the juncture between said two adjacent groups from an inactive position to an active position in which said selected needles will'first pass through said cams, and means for reengagings-aid reciprocating means to carry said selected needles equi-distant through said cams.

References Cited in the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,592,634 Jacques July 13, 1926 1,775,032 Sampey Sept. 2; 1930 2,856,762 Gell .Oct..2 l, 19-58 

